


Thanksgiving Blizzard (Part Two)

by skymageariel



Series: 31 days of The Dragon Prince [18]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Filler, Fluff, Fun, Gen, Modern AU, Mystery, Thanksgiving, school au, stolen car
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27119392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skymageariel/pseuds/skymageariel
Summary: After sneaking out to try and find help, Callum finds an old friend. Meanwhile, the rest of the group fears for his safety, as well as their own.
Relationships: Rayllum (The Dragon Prince)
Series: 31 days of The Dragon Prince [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946767
Kudos: 38





	Thanksgiving Blizzard (Part Two)

It was roughly 8:00, and the inside of Soren’s van was absolutely freezing. The storm outside had calmed down significantly, thought snow was still fluttering to the earth constantly. Ice had coated the road, and the lack of traffic outside had Callum convinced that the road was blocked off. He glanced around the car one last time. Everyone else was sleeping- Soren, face first on the steering wheel, Claudia, with her feet on the dashboard, and Rayla across the rest of the backseat. With one last look out the window, he decided. Time for a walk. Next to him, just before he opened the door, Rayla shivered as she slept. In a last ditch attempt to keep her warm, he took off his winter coat, placing it over her shoulders before he unlocked the van door and stepped out into the cold. As it closed, it clicked behind him, locking again. No going back now. 

“Yikes,” Callum whispered to himself, hugging his arms to combat the cold. Wind howled and bit as he stood there, assessing the situation. 

The van was stuck in a rather large snowbank, and, as the hours had passed, had only been buried more. Behind them was nothing. Nothing but a road covered in ice, not a single vehicle coming their way. Everyone else in Washington knew better than to drive through a snowstorm like this. To the south, Callum could see the artificial light of a town piercing through the fog and the snow. That was the direction he’d be going. 

As he walked, he did the math in his head. The average person could run a mile in roughly 9 minutes, and walk a mile in about 15. Half of fifteen was.. 7 and a half. In 7 minutes, if he kept a steady pace, Callum could be at a place to get help, to drag Soren’s van from the snow and get the rest of the group somewhere warm. He was 7 minutes away from figuring out a way to spend the rest of Thanksgiving Day with Ezran and Amaya. All he wanted was to sit with Ezran by the fireplace, holding him close.

—

“Rayla, wake up,” Claudia’s voice came as she shook Rayla’s shoulder. 

“What?” Rayla grumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. A heavy cloth fell from her shoulders, and when she looked to see what it was, her eyes widened. Callum’s coat. 

“That’s what,” Claudia said. “Callum’s gone.” 

“What are we gonna do!” Rayla asked, frantic as she looked out the window. “I can’t see him- how long has he been gone?”

“I don’t know! I just woke up- and Doofus over here has been sleeping for at least an hour, so he has no idea,” she gestured to Soren, whose face was pressed to the steering wheel as he snored. “We need to find him, he can’t be out in the cold like this!” Claudia reasoned, moving from the front seat to the back. Rayla pushed the door handle, but the door didn’t budge. She tried again- nothing.

“The door’s stuck,” she said, leaning against it. “It won’t open!”

“Try pulling it, maybe it’s a pull door?”

Rayla stared in disbelief. “THAT’S NOT HOW CAR DOORS WORK!” she yelled, sending Soren into a state of panic.

“What! Huh! Where!” Soren sat up straight, the outline of the steering wheel marked onto his cheeks. 

“Soren, can you open your door?” Rayla asked, pushing against the window with her shoulder. He pulled the handle, but it didn’t give.

“No, why?”

“This one’s stuck!”

“Have you tried any of the other ones?” 

“The other ones are stuck in the snow, dumbass.”

“Chill with the language there, grumpy!” Soren held up his hands in defeat. “No one asked for your attitude, Rayla.”

“Soren!” Claudia scolded. “Callum is missing!”

“Oh.”

“We need to get out so we can find him,” Rayla said, straining against the door. “It’s below freezing out there and he left his coat like an idiot!” She pushed harder against the door. “Why won’t this stupid thing open!”

“It’s an old van! Sometimes the doors get stuck!” Soren pushed on his own door, but it didn’t move either. “With the cold, I don’t think these guys wanna move at all. We could be here a while.”

“We’ve already been here for two hours!” Claudia reminded them, holding her phone to the ceiling, trying to get some cell service. “And who knows how long Callum’s been outside.”

“Maybe if we all push on the same door, it’ll burst open!” Soren suggested. “Sure, my car will be broken, but-“

Claudia snorted. “Your car’s already broken, no need to worry about that.”

“How’s it broken! It works fine!”

“Obviously none of the doors are stuck.”

“Guys, can we please focus,” Rayla said. “Soren’s idea is the best chance we have of getting out of here.”

“Why are we trying to leave again?” he asked, climbing into the backset.

“To get Callum!” Rayla reminded him harshly. “Okay, everyone get up against the door.” 

“It’s really squished,” Soren complained, pressed to the back of the driver’s seat. 

“I don’t wanna touch Soren!” Claudia whined.

“Would both of you just shut up for two minutes so we can get out of this metal death trap!” Rayla yelled. They shut up. Each of them pressed a shoulder to the van door, waiting for Rayla’s cue. “Everyone push in 3… 2… 1…” They each strained against the car, trying their hardest to push it open. The entire car creaked, which gave the illusion that they were actually accomplishing something. Spoiler alert; they weren’t. 

“Okay, this isn’t working,” Claudia gave up, leaning back. “We need to figure something else out.” Claudia and Soren both looked over at Rayla.

“Don’t look at me, I’m out of ideas.” She slipped back into the seat, hugging her arms to try and get rid of the cold. “Of all the ways I thought I was gonna die, I didn’t think it’d be in Soren’s crusty van.”

“Hey! Rhonda isn’t crusty!”

“You named your car ‘Rhonda’?” Rayla asked through squinted and annoyed eyes.

“Yeah! She’s a Honda. Rhonda the Honda.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“C’mon, you know you love me,” Soren grinned, arms outstretched for a hug. Rayla rolled her eyes, picking up Callum’s coat from the ground and pulling her arms through it.

“Okay…” Claudia muttered, “Ignoring whatever that was… we still need to get out of here and find Callum.”

“I’m sure at this rate he’s at the gas station already,” Soren said. “You know… assuming he hasn’t gotten hypothermia and died on the side of the road.”

“Soren!” Claudia punched him in the gut. “What is your problem!” He fell back in surprise, landing on the car floor, getting stuck between the back and front seat. His arm got pinned over his chest pocket. A soft  _ click!  _ resounded from each of the doors. Rayla and Claudia shared a glance, piecing everything together.

“Soren?” Rayla asked. “Where are your keys?”

“In my front pocket,” he said, using the stuck hand to fish the keys from his shirt pocket. “Is no one gonna help me up?”

Rayla took the keys, pressing the  _ Lock Doors  _ button, hearing the same click again. She unlocked the doors and pushed hers open, staring at the scene outside as the door gave way. 

“You mean to tell me that the entire time the doors were just LOCKED?” she yelled, punching Soren’s shoulder, causing him to sink further between the seats. “You’re-“

“Insufferable, I know,” he groaned, struggling to push himself up. 

—

Callum had finally made his way to a gas station, shivering like crazy, nose running and eyes watering. He walked up to the door, peering inside to see someone moving behind the counter. Pushing the door open, Callum made a beeline for the coffee station in the back, moving past every other shelf. He thanked whatever gods might be out there that they were still selling a pumpkin spice blend as he filled the largest cup with the steaming hot drink, thankful for the steam that floated up and around him. The shock from cold to hot made his hands start tingling as he held the cup.

Okay, what else did he need? He sipped his coffee, browsing through the snacks, eventually deciding on a fun sized bag of salt and vinegar chips, just to piss Soren off. He brought the chips and coffee to the front counter, wondering if there was a way to get gas to Soren’s car up the road.

“Callum? Is that you?” asked the cashier. Callum looked up and smiled.

“Terry! What are you doing here!?”

“I work here, dude! Pretty sweet, right?” he bragged, scanning the bag of chips. 

“I didn’t know you worked on Thanksgiving.”

“Just the night shift. Spent the day at home, spending the rest of the day making that coin.” Terry punched in the code for Callum’s 20oz coffee. “You look like you’ve had a rough night. Your face is all red.”

“Yeah, Soren’s car spun out of control about half a mile away from here,” Callum explained. “We were kinda stuck there, and none of us had any service. I just walked here, and-“

“Wait, wait,” Terry stopped him. “You  _ walked _ here? In the blizzard? Without a coat?”

“Yeah, what else was I supposed to do?” Callum shrugged. “By the way, you guys don’t happen to have like, a gas container I could bring up to the car, do you?”

“We do, actually,” Terry pulled Callum’s receipt from the register, “But I wouldn’t go back out in that storm quite yet. You could get sick, if you’re not already. Take a few minutes in here, warm up! I’ve got some inventory in the back, so holler if you need anything,” Terry smiled, handing Callum his things before disappearing behind a door to the left. 

After a few minutes of drinking shitty coffee, Callum started to hear voices. Not in his head or anything, he was taking meds for those. These voices were coming from outside. Setting his coffee on the counter, Callum looked out the door to see a group of three walking towards the building, obviously fighting and bickering, and obviously cold. He opened the door to meet them.

“What are you guys doing here!” he said, holding the door open for them as Soren, Claudia, and Rayla filed into the gas station. 

“We’re looking for you!” Rayla exclaimed, taking off his coat she was wearing and handing it to him. “I can’t believe you did that! You could have gotten hurt or sick or- or- or hurt, or-“ Callum wrapped her in a hug, cutting her off. 

“Sorry,” he said, “Just wanted to get us out of there.” They pulled away, Rayla still fuming. “I got snacks!” Callum held up the shopping bag with nothing but salt and vinegar chips. 

“Oh, fuck you, man,” Soren groaned as everyone else dug into the bag. “You know I hate those.”

“Yeah,” Callum chuckled, “I know.”

“Okay, never do that again,” Claudia said, mouth full. “We were actually really worried- we had no idea where you were!”

“I couldn’t just let us sit there,” Callum reasoned. “Plus I really wanna get to Ezran before midnight. We have this really fun Thanksgiving day tradition-“

“Yeah, yeah, that’s super sweet. Have you called a tow truck yet?” Soren asked, returning from behind a shelf with a bag of gummy worms.

“No need, we can buy a gallon here, bring it back to the car, and use that gallon to fill the tank here.” 

“That’s a lot of work, and a lot of walking in the snow,” Rayla replied. “Are you sure we shouldn’t just call a tow truck?”

“Nah, that’s expensive. And time consuming. This way, all we have to do is walk back before driving the rest of the way.” Callum walked up to the front counter and yelled “TERRY!”

“I’m here, I’m here!” he said, coming out from the back room. “What’s up! Ooh, friends! Hey, guys!”

“Hi!

“Hey!”

“What’s up, my man!”

“Can I get that gallon of gas I was talking about earlier?” Callum asked. “I think we’re ready to head out.” 

“You got it!”

—

The group walked through the cold, back up to Soren’s van, each taking turns carrying the extremely heavy and very dangerous gallon of gasoline across the icy roads. Callum and Rayla ended up sharing his coat; shoulders pressed together, each with one arm through a sleeve. They laughed and talked, anxieties of the night disappearing as hope for a warm house and warm meal glimmered into their future. 

That is, until they got back to where the van had crashed to find it wasn’t there.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! we love a good 2000 words lmao- i hope you all enjoyed!


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